Arguments for and against IUCN protected area management category VI with a review of state versus community governance

Exploring the performance of protected areas in alleviating future human pressure

Protected areas (PAs) are effective in mitigating human pressures, yet their future pressure alleviating effects remain unclear. In this study, we employed the ConvLSTM model to forecast the future human footprint and analyzed human pressure trends using Theil-Sen median and Mann-Kendall tests. We further evaluated the mitigating effects of PAs within their buffer zones (1-10 km) and the contributions of different IUCN categories of PAs to mitigating human pressure using linear regression models. The results indicate that by 2035, the average human pressure value is expected to increase by 11%, with trends exhibiting a polarized pattern. Furthermore, PAs also effectively mitigate human pressure within their 1 km buffer zones. Different categories of PAs vary in their effectiveness in mitigating human pressure, and stricter conservation areas are not always the most effective. This study can offer insights for evaluating the effectiveness of PAs in reducing human pressure and advocate for their targeted management in urban areas.

Applying deep learning on social media to investigate cultural ecosystem services in protected areas worldwide

Protected areas (PAs) are the cornerstone of conservation efforts. Although they provide many benefits to humanity, the variability in the provision of cultural ecosystem services (CES) among global PAs remains unknown. To investigate this, we combined Convolutional Neural Networks with hierarchical clustering to categorize photos from Flickr taken in PAs worldwide. A final sample of 87,090 photos in 2813 PAs within 207 countries was obtained. Distinct global patterns of CES activities emerged. Such activities had three main interaction types: human-nature (abiotic), human-nature (biotic) and human-human. Human-nature (abiotic) interactions dominated in mountain ranges. Human-nature (biotic) photos were more common in equatorial countries, and human-human photos occurred mainly in Europe. To determine the extent of the influence of biome type of PAs on CES, mixed-effects models were subsequently run. These models additionally included the country of PAs as a random effect. Despite differences in physical environments, PAs within each country generally shared similar CES types. Moreover, the effect of biome differences was marginal, thereby demonstrating that country-level management of PAs likely has a more important role in influencing CES activities in PAs. To conclude, we suggest that our results demonstrate the utility of social media data for understanding visitor activities in PAs.

Global drivers of mangrove loss in protected areas

Despite increasing efforts and investment in mangrove conservation, mangrove cover continues to decline globally. The extent to which protected area (PA) management effectively prevents mangrove loss globally across differing management objectives and governance types is not well understood. We combined remote sensing data with PA information to identify the extent and the drivers of mangrove loss across PAs with distinct governance types and protection levels based on categories developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Mangrove loss due to storms and erosion was prevalent across all governance types and most IUCN categories. However, the extent of human-driven loss differed across governance types and IUCN categories. Loss was highest in national government PAs. Private, local, shared arrangement, and subnational government agencies had low human-driven mangrove loss. Human-driven loss was highest in PAs with the highest level of restrictions on human activities (IUCN category I) due to mangrove conversion to areas for commodity production (e.g., aquaculture), whereas PAs that allowed sustainable resource use (e.g., category VI) experienced low levels of human-driven mangrove loss. Because category I PAs with high human-driven loss were primarily governed by national government agencies, conservation outcomes in highly PAs might depend not only on the level of restrictions, but also on the governance type. Mangrove loss across different governance types and IUCN categories varied regionally. Specific governance types and IUCN categories thus seemed more effective in preventing mangrove loss in certain regions. Overall, we found that natural drivers contributed to global mangrove loss across all PAs, whereas human-driven mangrove loss was lowest in PAs with subnational- to local-level governance and PAs with few restrictions on human activities.

Protected area management effectiveness and COVID-19: The case of Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

The decline in economic activities and tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced the pressure on the environment and protected area (PA) systems to some extent. However, the financial losses within nature-based tourism due to travel restrictions and park closures will negatively impact tourism income-dependent PAs' management effectiveness. This exploratory study incorporates a risk-assessment framework to investigate and provide first insights into the pandemic's influence on the delivery of management outputs in Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia.

Although in 2020, this PA faced a 75% decline in overall revenue compared to the year before, analysis suggests that, in the short term, conservation-related outputs are least affected. Visitor management and PA efforts to support the local community's sustainable development are the most severely impacted first-order outputs. Third-order nature-based tourism-related outputs face average to high risks.

This study's risk-assessment framework provides a starting point for a post-pandemic reassessment of the delivery of PA management outputs and decision-making about output prioritisation and resource allocation. Results suggest several new avenues for research.

Management implications

Post-pandemic recovery of PA requires prioritisation risk framework to identify specific objectives that should be addressed first and which require additional effort or funding. Facing a crisis PA will allocate financial resources in a way that sustains primary functions such as conservation until negative trends change, or at least until financial resources become available. PAs require a paradigm shift, which includes tailoring of financial mechanisms to practical and policy purposes, effective allocation of financial resources, and responsible tourism recovery plans that capture the value and efforts of conservation through tourism and investments in nature-based solutions for sustainable tourism within PA.

Evaluation of Protected Areas in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, West Africa, Using a Remote Sensing-Based Approach

This study assesses the representation of defined ecoregions, slope profiles, and species richness of threatened mammals in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)-listed protected areas in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. It also evaluates the exposure of protected area categories to the cumulative degree of human modification and their vulnerability to future agricultural expansion. Spatial gap and statistical analyses were performed using quantitative data from publicly available online global databases. Analyses indicated key conservation priorities for both countries: (1) to increase the protection of the Guinean forest–savanna mosaic, West Sudanian savanna, and Eastern Guinean forests, especially of the Eastern Guinean forests’ ecoregion associated with the Guinean forests of the West Africa biodiversity hotspot; (2) to increase the protected area coverage of flat lands and low slopes; and (3) to enhance the size and connectivity of existing protected areas, including restoring degraded habitats. The study emphasizes that improving the ability of tropical protected areas to conserve nature and mitigate anthropogenic threats should be a global conservation priority. Improving the data quality and detail within the World Database on Protected Areas and ground-truthing them are recommended urgently to support accurate and informative assessments.

Strictly protected areas are not necessarily more effective than areas in which multiple human uses are permitted

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies protected areas into six categories, ranging from strict nature reserves to areas where multiple human uses are permitted. In the past, many researchers have questioned the effectiveness of multiple-use areas, fueling an unresolved debate regarding their conservation value. The literature so far has been inconclusive: although several studies have found that strictly protected areas are more effective, others have found the opposite, and yet others that the two types do not differ. To help resolve this debate, we reviewed the literature on protected areas and conducted our own analysis using > 19 000 terrestrial protected areas worldwide. We found that the differences between strictly protected areas and areas in which multiple human uses are permitted are often small and not statistically significant. Although the effectiveness of protected areas worldwide varies, other factors, besides their assigned IUCN category, are likely to be driving this pattern.